Crime Wave

The Original: Sam Raimi's little-seen second movie, co-scripted with the Coen Brothers, about a feud for ownership of a security firm that spirals into homicide when two 'human exterminators' are hired.

The Sequel: A new firm has taken on the 'human exterminators' mantle (John Goodman and John Turturro), causing chaos for businessman Renaldo The Heel (Bruce Campbell).

Essential Scene: A warehouse is transformed into a life-sized version of the game 'Mousetrap,' and Renaldo is caught in the middle.

Raising Arizona

The Original: White trash couple H.I. and Ed (Nic Cage, Holly Hunter) - unable to have or adopt their own child - steal one of the famous Arizona quintuplets and face an anarchic battle with the Lone Biker of the Apocalypse (Randall "Tex" Cobb).

The Sequel: Kidnapped infant Nathan, Jr (Jonah Hill) is now all grown up and sets out on a road trip to find the couple who took him.

Essential Scene: We find out why the Lone Biker of the Apocalypse was alone - he was trying to escape the tyranny of the even more formidable Apocalypse Trio (Jeff Bridges, John Turturro, Steve Buscemi).

Essential Dialogue: NATHAN, JR - "Wow, you live in a mobile home!"

H.I - "I always say, if you gotta commute, the last thing you be needing when you get home is a flight of stairs up to your bed."

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Miller's Crossing

The Original: Sort-of remake of Yojimbo and A Fistful of Dollars , with its turf war relocated to the American gangster genre where Tom Reagan (Gabriel Byrne) gets caught in the crossfire.

The plot was so convoluted the Coens wrote an entire new movie ( Barton Fink ) while they were perfect the tangled knot of cross and double-cross.

The Sequel: Twenty years on, Leo O'Bannon (Albert Finney) is dying, and wants to pass control of his gang to his son (Andrew Garfield).

Trouble is, old troubleshooter Tom is back in town and Leo's wife / Tom's ex Verna (Marcia Gay Harden) wants him dead. Cue a new turf war.

The Man Who Wasn't There

The Sequel: Just as Ed crane wanted, Birdy Abundas (Scarlett Johansen) has become a concert pianist but her association with Crane comes back to haunt her when the FBI come a calling...and so, perhaps, have the aliens.

Essential Scene: Birdy seduces a Fed (John Turturro) on her piano, little noticing it's started playing of its own accord.

Intolerable Cruelty

The Original: Hotshot divorce lawyer Miles Massey (George Clooney) meets his match in gold-digger Marilyn Rexroth (Catherine Zeta Jones), who sets about ruining Miles after he thwarts her plan, only to fall in love - or do they?

The Sequel: Although still technically married, Marilyn and Miles have gone into business starting affairs with wealthy couples in order to create divorces for their work...

But jealousy creeps in when the two suspect their partner is falling in love with their latest targets (Frances McDormand, John Turturro).

Essential Scene: On a cruise ship, the foursome swap partners and beds, narrowing avoiding catching each other in the act.

Essential Dialogue: MILES - "There isn't a single marriage that couldn't be improved by a pre-nup."

The Sequel: Now living in South America, Harry gets involved with a coup when a corrupt CIA agent (John Turturro) realises he can use his knowledge of the events of the first film to force Harry into becoming a patsy.

Essential Scene: Harry blunders into a Presidential palace where he accidentally kills the President.

A Serious Man

The Original: Jewish physics professor Larry Gobnick (Michael Stuhlbarg) gets a dose of old-time religion when his life unravels a la Job in the Old Testament.

The Sequel: Things get really trippy for Larry when one of his students (Jesse Eisenberg) announces that he's God. Or, he could be a pothead.

Essential Scene: Larry is hauled before the university head (John Turturro) to explain why he's begun teaching his class free love.

Essential Dialogue: LARRY - "I have always had faith in atoms and particles. It's only recently that I've begun to smoke them."

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True Grit

The Original: Second film version of the Charles Portis Western novel about teenage girl Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld), who hires one-eyed mercenary Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to track down the man who killed her father

The Sequel: This one's easy, given that the first, John-Wayne starring True Grit had its own sequel, Rooster Cogburn , in which the character teams up with spinster Eula Goodnight (Katherine Hepburn originally; here, Tilda Swinton).

Essential Scene: Rooster sees things from the other side when Eula rescues him from certain death.